Do you agree with me or my joiner? Aesthetic advice needed!

[tinseloclock]

My joiner is fitting a door on an alcove in my bedroom. He has bought a door which matches the door to the room, but narrower. As the alcove isn't as high as the main door he will need to cut it down by 7.5cm, so we've been discussing the best way to do that. Options are:

1. Take the full amount off the bottom of the door so that all the mouldings are 7.5cm lower than the adjacent door.

1. Take the full amount off the bottom of the door so that the mouldings line up, but there's a narrower border between the mouldings and the top of the door.

1. Take some off the top and some off the bottom.

My joiner was originally inclined towards number 1, whereas I was inclined towards number 2, so we've compromised on 3. He's currently planning to take 2.5cm off the top and 5cm off the bottom, but until he makes a start there's still time to change tack.

Opinions?

I don’t know where the word rope came from in my reply there sorry!

I vote for Mother ‘s hidden flat door with skirting. Either a push-to-open or match the other door handle.

If you have a similar sized door with the corner cut off the door wouldn't open.

Plain door and paint it the same as the walls so it blends in.

What a handy little cubby

A different door would be my preferred option too. Mirrored, hidden, painted purple - anything but mismatched mouldings or panels.

1. Then the main lines will line up!

But a flat door definitely a better option altogether.

A gorgeous curtain

Are you aiming for an old fashioned look?
All of those slats would be a bind to paint IMO.
The hidden door looks good to me.

If you're having a door then handles should line up. Might be inclined to have nob rather than handle on alcove. Plain door probably better than matching to avoid issues.

Curtain might be nice but could be messy and a dust trap.

2 - they need to line up.

Hidden door. Joiners recommend what's easiest, not what will look best. You have to live with it for years.

Mother's hidden door option - clear winner.

I would abandon the project and get a new door. Two doors that style right beside each other are going to look odd.

I’d be very surprised if you can remove that much from either end without compromising the integrity of the door

None of the above, because if it's a cheap door (solid round the edges, hollow panels packed with cardboard in the middle) he won't be able to adjust it by more than a couple of inches off either end. So his current plan is probably the only achievable one with the door you have available.

To make it match aesthetically you'd need to cut-and-shut taking a section out of the middle panel. This would keep the bottom panel aligned with the first door and the top panel intact. But this would weaken a cheap door.